Ford Kuga

 Service Manual

Body Repairs - General Information » Body Sheet Metal
High strength steels

The strength of the material and the nature of the surface can be changed as required by different engineering processes. In order to achieve suitable configuration and a good match between construction specifications and what is possible in production, a large range of high strength panels is available.

The range of the minimum yield strength is from 180 N/mm2 to 460 N/mm2. High strength thin steel panels usually have a surface finish. Electrolytic surface sealing is preferred. Within the group of high strength steels, various types of steel are used in body construction:

• Micro-alloyed high strength steels for very difficult drawn components such as fenders, the internal components of doors, hoods and luggage compartment lids or load bearing components such as sidemembers, crossmembers etc.
• Bake-hardening steels and phosphorus alloyed steels for external panel components with higher draw depth and subject to higher operational demands.
• Isotropic materials for flat shaped outer steel panels on doors, hoods, luggage compartment lids, roofs.

High strength steels

Ultra-high-strength steels

Coated steel panels